MANILA, Philippines – As the Manila City Hall continues to receive complaints from students and establishments along R. Papa street corner Nicanor Reyes, or what is dubbed as the “hepa lane” in Manila, members of the Task Force Clean-Up of the Department of Public Services (DPS) forcibly removed the food stalls of vendors in the area.

The DPS said, vendors have still failed to secure business and sanitary permits despite receiving a notice to stop their operation.

“When we sent them notice, they left. What I did was, I held a meeting with the management of the vendors there. I told them to go to the city hall to secure a permit. If they can secure one, they will have to go to the Sanitary Department to get another one,” DPS Head Task Force Clean-up Che Borromeo said.

The village chairman also held a dialogue on Wednesday night with the vendors and advised them to secure permits.

“They are willing to obey the requirements of the city hall,” Brgy. 395 chairman Eduardo Gevero said.

For now, vendors have left the “hepa lane”. The DPS also ordered policemen to monitor the area so vendors will no longer return.

Some of the vendors are waiting on the sidewalk, hoping for the local government of Manila to grant them permits so they could continue their livelihood.

“We are just here on standby awaiting instructions because we really can’t sell properly since they are monitoring the area. For now, our president is taking care of the matter,” vendor Cali Sumagabang said.

According to the Division of Sanitation of Manila, the vendors have already applied for permits but they failed to pass the sanitary requirements.

“There were efforts in their part to legitimize it, now they went here and we conducted a seminar. When we visited them, we saw it. You are on the road, you put tables, and cook food and at the same time wash dining utensils. That is not allowed. And in terms of cleaning, they are sweeping it to the gutter,” Sanitation Division of Manila head Clemente San Gabriel said.

Manila authorities remind the public of the diseases they can get when eating at unsanitary places, like food poisoning, gastroenteritis, diarrhea, stomach flu, and cholera. – Joan Nano | UNTV News & Rescue

Earthquake victims in Makilala town, North Cotabato suffered abdominal pains followed by vomiting after eating pastel for lunch on Monday, November 4, 2019

MANILA, Philippines – All 29 victims of food poisoning in Makilala, Cotabato were already discharged from the hospital.

According to the National Disaster Risk Reduction and Management Council (NDRRMC), evacuees from Barangay Malabuan suffered stomach pains followed by vomiting after eating pastel that was part of the donated food packages in the evacuation center.

To prevent the incident from happening again, authorities improved security measures at checkpoints to ensure the quality of food being delivered to the evacuees.

The agency also called on all donors to make sure that food donations are properly prepared and packed to prevent spoilage.

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